25 September 2008
Why IT Needs Business Support: the case for comprehensive IT Training
Eddie Kilkelly, Managing Director, ILX Group plc, looks at this issue and outlines the business benefits that can be realised by providing IT with comprehensive training and support.
Articles about ‘bridging the gap’ between IT and business commonly focus on how closer alignment would help the business get what it needs from IT, such as software that fulfils a business need, or streamlined processes, for example. They tend not to examine what IT needs from the business – such as a training programme that keeps skills relevant in the fast moving world of technology - and the negative impact that this misalignment can have on the business as a whole.
A neat illustration of this is a recent independent survey by Vanson Bourne about the adoption of ITIL Version 3. The study, which questioned 100 senior IT managers and directors from a variety of industries, also showed that, of the 62 per cent of businesses that are planning to migrate to ITIL Version 3, only 17 percent have any timeline in place for doing so, with only one per cent scheduling the change over in the next six months. In fact, 67% of IT managers and directors said they are simply not equipped to change over to ITIL Version 3.
ITIL provides a systematic approach to the provisioning and management of IT services, from inception through design, implementation, operation and continual improvement. ITIL Version 3 was launched last year to provide an integrated service lifecycle approach to IT Service Management.
In an environment where business profitability and stakeholder loyalty is dependent on the high availability, dependability and security of IT services, it is perhaps unsurprising that the survey showed seven out of every ten senior IT managers and directors believed that having staff qualified in ITIL would give their business a competitive edge.
What is ITIL?
IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is an integrated set of best practice recommendations with common definitions and terminology. ITIL covers areas such as Incident Management, Problem Management, Change Management, Release Management and the Service Desk. ITIL Version 3 was launched on 30th May 2007 to provide an integrated service lifecycle approach to IT Service Management.
The research suggests that a common barrier to adoption of the ITIL Version 3 are lack of comprehension from the business – with 54% of IT managers and directors claiming that the benefits of ITIL were not fully understood by management. However, an even bigger issue, as reported by 57% of senior IT managers and directors, is lack of support from the business for training, resulting in staff being too busy to take time off work to train. This is certainly borne out by our own experience, `where we see a definite desire to adopt ITIL Version 3 amongst IT professionals and yet an equal amount of hesitance from the business. As a direct result of this, adoption of ITIL Version 3 is being hampered and the benefits of ITIL, which include optimal service provision, reduced costs and improved use of skills and experience - are not being realised by business.
This discord between the business and IT is well documented and yet we do have a powerful example of what can be achieved when IT and business work together to solve an issue that is a threat to the productivity of the business.
ITIL provides a systematic and professional approach to the management of IT service provision. Adopting its guidance offers users a huge range of benefits that include:
- Reduced costs
- Improved IT services through the use of proven best practice processes;
- Improved customer satisfaction through a more professional approach to service delivery
- Standards and guidance;
- Improved productivity;
- Improved use of skills and experience
- Improved delivery of third party services through the specification of ITIL or ISO 0000 as the standard for service delivery in services procurements.
Source: Official ITIL website: http://www.itil-officialsite.com/home/home.asp
Y2K: A global problem – drawing upon past experiences
As the Millennium approached, the impact of losing access to computer facilities was realised, quantified and plans were made avoid disaster, or at the very least to recover quickly. In the face of the threat, companies and organisations worldwide checked and upgraded their computer systems.
When the clocks rolled over into 2000, no significant computer failures occurred which was primarily due to the fact that business and IT worked so closely together. The threat was clearly recognised, staff were trained, preventative action was taken in advance, and the vast majority of issues had been fixed correctly. However, the successful handling of Y2K has also had an unexpected downside: it has made us all complacent when it comes to the 24/7 availability of our corporate computing systems.
In reality, ‘disasters’ happen on a small scale every day, with systems failing for a number of reasons, ranging from computer equipment or network failure, misconfiguration and ‘fat fingers’ through to human error, fire, flood or theft of equipment.
Although some may baulk at the idea of the temporary loss of service provision being classified as a business disaster, the real and hidden costs of an outage should not be underestimated. For example, when email goes down, in addition to the lost revenue and productivity there is the ‘cost’ of user confidence or even the credibility of your organisation (in so much as to external parties the company appears not to have robust IT systems).
However, the story of optimal service provision is not just one of avoiding disaster. By integrating business strategy with IT service strategy, the business will be able to realise many benefits including cost savings, standardised processes, enhanced productivity, improved communications and workflow…the list goes on. The key point to be made here is that improved IT service translates to improved business practices and benefits the bottom line.
Training Solutions
IT Managers are aware that to constantly deliver optimal service provision, their staff must be highly skilled. They need to have those skills constantly refreshed and updated to remain relevant. They need to understand business priorities and to fully understand their job. In short, they need top quality training on an ongoing basis.
Many IT managers often feel that they are not given enough training and support to do their job properly, and when training is offered IT staff are not given the adequate time, space or framework required to make learning a success. For example, when employees are given time off to attend a training course, in the best case scenario it may conflict with work pressures or in a worst case they have to remain at the office as there is an IT crisis.
This can be an incredibly frustrating situation as, without a fully skilled staff, the IT Managers are aware that they run the risk of exposure to more issues and also that time spent fire-fighting is not being spent improving service provision and benefiting the business. On the other hand, the IT staff are a critical part of the infrastructure and it is often not feasible to release them from the office for days at a time, a problem which is exacerbated by the simple fact that training scheduling can not take into account unforeseen crises.
In order to address these issues, forward thinking organisations are looking at ways to enable IT staff to get the comprehensive knowledge and skills they need without physically removing them from the office. These organisations are taking a blended approach to training.
The key to getting the most out of your e-Learning programme is to take a holistic view. Where e-Learning is seen as low value and not relevant, it is usually because it is not understood where e-Learning can- and should - fit into the company’s overall strategy.
Blended Learning: the Distinction between knowledge and skills
Blended learning is the combination of multiple approaches to learning, the ‘blending’ of virtual and physical resources. For example, bleing online e-learning programmes with face-to-face sessions used together to deliver instruction.
Blended learning is so effective because it delivers knowledge and supports skills attainment. E-Learning can deliver knowledge, but it is the practical application of that knowledge that leads to the attainment of skills. This can be illustrated by the example of learning to drive: it would be impossible to be an effective driver without both the knowledge of the highway code and the skills to manipulate the car.
Case Study: Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council takes a blended approach
Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is currently putting its entire ICT staff – including Service Desk, Application Developers and Project Managers – through ITIL Version 3 foundation training. Prior to embarking on the programme, Solihull faced the same challenge as many organisations: that IT skills and training was patchy and unevenly spread. For example, some employees had done ITIL Foundation in the past; some had limited knowledge, others only knew it as an acronym.
As classroom based training was not feasible from a resourcing perspective, Solihull decided to take a blended option. The e-learning aspect meant that, as opposed to being out of the office for three days, employees could train at their own speed. Classroom training is used to embed knowledge and teach skills. This approach has not only enabled the organisation to prioritise groups that need the ITIL training first, for example, the service desk, but also make training more effective and significantly more cost efficient.
Bridging the Gap
Although a blended learning approach can improve the effectiveness and scope of training while significantly reducing costs, it cannot necessarily help the business understand the value of training.
The first step in establishing the value of training is for the IT team to be able to articulate:
- How training strategies are aligned with specific business objectives, be that training classroom-based, pure e-Learning, or a blended approach
- What employees need to be trained
- What areas of the business could be improved through training
Consultancy from a third party provider may be helpful at this stage as they can assess the training needs of an organisation holistically. The data they collect can also be used to assess the success of training programmes, and this element of measurement and accountability can be a valuable tool in establishing the value of training.
By ensuring that the business has a clear understanding of the importance and value of training, it is possible to improve the status of IT training an create an environment where IT training will succeed. This understanding – together with training solutions that do not require key members of staff to be out of the office - should remove the situation where IT Managers feel they must constantly justify staff training.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that to do their jobs properly, IT needs support – support from the business in order to train their staff to adequate levels. However, despite the fact they are a critical element to the business infrastructure, where training is delivered it is often inappropriately delivered or is out of date.
The business benefits of a highly skilled IT team are manifold and include optimal service provision, increased productivity, improved business agility, reduced costs and increased customer service.
The key to unlocking the true benefit of IT lies in delivering comprehensive training to IT staff, ensuring that staff have the skills and knowledge they need to realise all of the possible business benefits.